Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-21
FALSE RUMORs.
Reporters who Buitd Railroads
ON Thin Paper.

ON Thin Paper
The very good.looking and pleasant
young gentleman who presides over the
local columns of the Tribune is prone, at
periods when there is depression of
local news, to toy with the very intricate
and unfathomable railroad question. On
dull dsy, when his reporters fail to
turn in a large amount OF matter, he
will sit down and project railroad.
There is no point SO remote or so i'm
practicable that a railroad will not be
built to ton paper-and the hearts
OF the people owning real estate
along the line of the future road will
bound with hope, and they indulge in
rosy dreams OF the approaching time
when their lands will be worth in the
neghborhood of six thousand dollars an
acre. This is pleasing fiction, but un-
fortunately the young gentleman iDjects
into his reports clause that is
calculated either to deceive the
people or to destroy the reliability Of
the journal he represents, namely:
ssThe Tribune has it from the very
highest railroad authority" meaning
doubtless brakeman over six feet high.
| Another bad phase OF the matter is that
the. ina ginative flights of the young man
are telegraphed from this city ana peo-
| ple lift up their hands and piously ejac.
ulate: 1.-THE Lord deliver us from a
Los Angeles prevaricator. ~
A few days ago the Tribune announ-
1 4. L.. .,,4x IS Ia -
entered into by the Southern Pacific and
A. T. & S. f. roads, by which the latter
road had agreed to build no road north
of Moiave, in spite OF the asseverations OF
| all prominent railroad men OF both
companies, the Tribune knew better.
The A. I. 4 S. +. would short.
Ily commence building road
from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The
new road was TO follow the coast. The
| Tribune, in order to give ''verisimili-
tude to an otherwise bald and uninter-
esting narrative, got q map and traced
the route of the road up the coast, not
forgetting to misspell the names of the
different passes and valleys through
which the road was to wend its way.
The Herald published four-line
local denying the authenticity OF this
report, and intended to say nothing
| further about the matter, but the
| Tribune fiction has got into the press of
the northern portion OF the State, and
the people up there are making great
capital out of it. Now, the HERALD
does not claim to speak by
the highest railway authority,
bat c. w. Smith, Vice President
OF the Santa Fe system, "says we do not
contemplate extending our liue TO San
Francisco. Our arrangement with the
Southern Pacific for shipping freight and
passengers is perfectly satisfactory and
we do not intend to disturb existing re-
lstions. Southern California is the field
which we now propose to occupy, de-
velop and beautify. Our projected lines
in Southern California will keep us busy
for many days to come and in the mean.
time we do not purpose to encroaeh
upon that questionable locality yelept
the Northern Citrus Belt" The above
statement was made by Mr.. Smith when
here last.
II. B. wilkins, General Manager OF
the California Southern, is in total
ignorance OF the 7ribaBe's extension to
San Francisco and Mr.. Williamson
Dunn states positively that there is
nothing in it. 1t is possible shat
the Tribune has some information
known only to the gods and little
fishes, but it is not probable. Now, my
son, incline thy ear and absorb word
of wisdom. No reporter is smarl
enough to get possession of facts about
railroad building and extension before
the management is willing to give the
news to the public. No responsible mar
in railroad circles is so devoid of sense
as to give one newspaper q monopoly oi
such news, as he knows that all the
free passes in the world will not COM
pensate for a scoop of that character,
and that he would be devoting himself
TO the knife by such an act. Let the
Times continue to occupy its field as
the great North American indicator oi
where railroads should run and devote
yourself to something else, son.